ll, including the Young Empress, to wear pale blue, also the
Secondary wife of the Emperor. She said to me: "If the ladies ask who
the Secondary wife is, you can tell them; but if they don't ask, I don't
want you to introduce her to them at all. I have to be very careful.
These people at the Palace here are not used to seeing so many people
and they might not have nice manners, and the foreigners will laugh at
them." Then she said to us again: "I always give presents when ladies
come to the Court, but don't know whether I will give this time or not,
for at the last audience I did not give anything at all." Addressing me,
she said: "You can prepare some pieces of jade, in case I need them. Put
them in a nice box and have them all ready. Don't bring them to me until
I ask for them." She said: "We have talked enough now, and you can all
go to rest." We courtesied good night. I was only too glad to go to my
own room.

The next morning everything went on very nicely and there was no trouble
at all. Her Majesty was well satisfied, for we had all taken great care
in fixing ourselves up. She said to me: "You never put enough paint on
your face. People might take you for a widow. You will have to paint
your lips, as that is the custom. I don't need you yet, so go back and
put some more paint on." So I went back to my room and painted myself
just like the rest of them, but I could not help laughing at seeing
myself so changed. By the time I got to her room again, she said: "Now
you look all right. If you think that powder is expensive, I will buy
some for you." She said that with a laugh, for she always liked to tease
me.

By the time Her Majesty had finished her toilet, one of the ladies
brought a number of gowns for her to select one from. She said she would
wear pale blue that day. She looked over twenty or thirty gowns, but
found nothing which suited her, so she gave orders for some more to be
brought in. Finally she chose a blue gown embroidered with one hundred
butterflies, and wore a purple sleeveless jacket, which was also
embroidered with butterflies. At the bottom of this gown were pearl
tassels. She wore her largest pearls, one of which was almost as large
as an egg, and was her favorite jewel. She only wore this on special
occasions. She wore two jade butterflies on each side of her headdress.
Her bracelets and rings were also all designed in butterflies, in fact
everything matched. Among her beautiful jewels, she al